Expelled Essendon CEO Andrew Thorburn has warned that workers with religious beliefs are concerned about their jobs and prospects of promotion, as a workplace lawyer said the former NAB chief executive may have a claim of up to $1 million against the embattled AFL club.

Opposition Leader Peter Dutton called on the prime minister and Victorian premier to condemn Mr Thorburn’s ejection over his links to a controversial Christian church after just a day in the role, as Mr Thorburn said that a person’s Christian faith was no longer being “tolerated in the public square”.